The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-07-02

start. Don disturb yourselves, L beg OF
you,' said to my friends, 'but must leave
you; the train goes in thirty minutes We
drank another glass to my safe return,
embraced my wife, shook hands with the
no'ary, called carriage and rushed for the
station, the superintendent and two of the
employees accompanying me, singing all
along the route to keep away the robbers.
At the station, by the advice of the super
intendent, 1 took sleeping car, to avoid
bad company, and one of the employees went
to buy my ticket while the other stayed to
guard my valise and help me to mount into
the carriage
"'Pay attention to your company, and do
not dare to speak of your money-bag,
shouted the superintendent the conductor
slammed the door, the bell rang, and we
were Off,
''Thank heaven!' calculated the officer
"and now what next?"
at is just as 1 have told you, monsieur"
persisted Cato, with the air of martyr;
land next stretched myself upon the cush-
ions, drew the curtains and went to Sleep
When l woke again we were entertaining
the care here. | search for my money-bag
it is no longer on my back-I have been
robbedr
when did you say you went to sleep!"
demanded the chef.
'As soon as we started, | believer
''But why did you believe it9'
because l did not hear them cry the sta
tions."
'And you slept throughout the tripp
Il think so, but do not quite remember"
"Did you notice whether you had been
disturbed, or your things disarrangeds'
mo, nothing; and yet, now think of it.
it seems to me that at one time l felt cur
rent of air-from the window, perhaps"
'Why then didn't you close it,"
Il did close it," Cato replied with dig
nifty, ''as the superintendent and two en-
ployes can bear witness. The current of
air came in of course as the robber opened
the window to rob me.'
During the whole of this Interrogation
the commissioner had kept his eyes upC.u
the skies, jnwardly praying that the One
on high would grant him clew to the rid
die.
II presume you have no suspicions9" he
said at last.
II! mercy, mol 1 haven't an idea; the
windows were shut and was entirely alone
in my compartment"
"Then have it," cried the commissioner:
81 have i'll know the man-it was the
conductor
'Impossiblep' said the chef de care, ''his
conduct has always been most exemplary
Nothing is impossible where money is
conccrned-bring him to mel" 1t was not
difficult to do this, as he was on the plat
form near them. He turned as pale as
death when the officer seized him by the
arm and brusquely demanded of him the
stolen money-bag.
Il know nothing about it." snid he; 81
am Innocent"
'All robbers say the same until the mag
istrate takes them in handsome, forward,
marchn' and the commissioner, with an
air of great official superiority, turned upon
his heel and started away with his prisoner.
''Sign my deposition tirstl' shouted Cato
frantically, as he saw him going, land now
before l leave the coach!"
All at once a thought flashed across the
brain of the commissioner Without losing
his hold of the conductor he stretched out
his arm and caught NJ. Cato by the collar
The big man, not expecting an invitation
given in so brusque fashion, nearly fell
upon his nose upon the platform.
you'll come with us, too, my FRIEND"
said the officer, holding him with a grasp
Of iron; 1--WE are not through with you yet"
Every WELL" said Cato, though some
what astonished at the turn the affair had
taken; "but unloose me, if you please"
sit is not our habit to unloose robbers"
'But am no robber-on the contrary, it
is | who have been robbed
"Then the money belonged to you?"
''Not at all; it belonged to my proprie-
taire.n
When one loses the money of his proprie-
taire the law regards him no longer an hon
est man. Come, my boys, forward march
to the examining magistrateu'
M. Matthias Heveder, the examining mag
istrate, was great criminalist and firm
adherent of the new school of criminal pro-
cedure. Like bee he slipped his honey
from every flower, but invariably ended his
examination with the stereotyped phrase:
THE French say in the presence of mys-
FERROUS crime: "A woman is at the bottom
of it-seek herp l go further and say:
Find herr and always have up to this
time. Twill find her now"
This Cato affair more than aroused his
keenest interest, and he put in play to dis
cover the criminal his utmost skill and
astuteness. Commencing with the two sus-
pected ones, he placed them in the strictest
solitude, declining to allow them to COM
municate with living soul. In vain Cato
besought him with streaming eyes to allow
him to write, or at least telegraph, to his
proprietaire, who was waiting for the ten
thousand forms, and who would certainly
begin to misconstrue his silence and non
appearance. The magistrate, however, was
inexorable. "A woman is at the bottom Of
it," he stubbornly repeated; "that woman
we must find. From inquiries which Ihave
made it appears that one Of the prisoners,
Cato by name, is married. have sent by
telegraph a warrant for the arrest of his
wife. In the morning she will be here
under my hand. AS the conductor is not
married, it follows, Of course, that he has
a mistress. If we can discover who she is,
we shall have not the one but the two
women who are in question, and thereby
arrive at a solution Of the puzzle"
Telegraphing the news Of the robbery to
every station along the line, the magistrate
shut himself into his apartments with the
rotrr1, dtanatphna and afudtad thap, AN